Automatic air-brake-pressure adjuster.



No. 892,561. PATENTED JULY 7, 1908.

' U'. s. SMITH.

AUTOMATIC AIR BRAKE PRESSURE ADJUSTER. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 18, 1907.

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l/zwsesqi Smil/l yei zm G Homw ami [314000 c a PATEN'TED JULY U. S.SMITH. AUTOMATIC AIRBRAKE PRESSURE ADJUSTER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT.18,1907.

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q vdmeooeo ULYSSES S.

SMIII'I, OF SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA.

AUTOMATIC AIR-BBAKE-PRESSURE ADJUSTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July '7', 1908.

Application filed September 18, 1907. Serial No. 391%,159.

T all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ULYSSES S. SMITH, citizen of the United States,residing at Sacramento, in the county of Sacramento, State ofCalifornia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inAutomatic Air- Brake-Pressure Adjusters; and I do declare the followingto be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, such as willenable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and usethe same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to thecharacters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of thisapplication.

This invention relates to improvements in means for automaticallyadjusting the pressure on air brakes used in connection with railwayrolling stock and particularly on freight cars, my object being toproduce a means whereby the braking pressure on. all cars in a trainline may be made uniform according to their weight as they are empty orloaded and also to increase the braking power on the loaded cars withoutincreasing it on the empties. This object I accomplish by first doublingthe present braking pressure of the levers on the brake shoes and thenfitting the air cylinders with an automatic means for regulating andadjusting the said braking pressure according to the weight in the car;also by such other and further construction and relative arrangement ofparts as will appear by a perusal of the following specification andclaims.

In the drawings similar characters of ref erence indicate correspondingparts in the several views.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a freight car showing myimproved mechanism installed thereon. Fig. 2 is a side sectional view ofmy improved mechanism. Fig. 3 is an end View of the mechanism. Fig. 4 isa fragmentary view of a portion of the device showing a system ofadjusting levers. Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view showing a slot and pinmechanism. Fig. 6 is a view of a truck showing a part of my inventioninstalled. thereon.

Referring more particularly to the reference characters on the drawings1 designates the body of the car and 2 the axles of the wheels thereof.On the under side of said car are secured sills 3. Secured to one ofsaid sills 3 over one of the axles 2 is a double bracket 4. Securedbetween said bracket 4 is a cylinder 5 provided at its forward end. witha pop valve 6 connected by means of a pipe 7 to the front end of thebrake cylinder 8.

Screwmonnted in the rear end of the cylinder 5 is a centrally orilicedplug 9 carrying a sliding rod 10 in said orifice, the inner end of saidrod 10 having a sleeve 1] in. which is disposed a pin 12 bearing againstthe valve 6 and provided with a collar 13, while 14 is a spring bearingbetween the collar 13 and a collar 1O on the rod 10 all for the purposeas will appear.

15 are escape ports in the cylinder 5.

Iivotally mounted between the brackets 4: on a shaft 16 is a curved.adjustment lever 17 ,the upper end thereof being held normally away fromthe end of the rod 10 by means of a spring 17, and provided withratchcts 17* intermediate said spring and said upper end for the purposeas will appear. In a swiveled pin 18 in the lower end of said member I?is a vertical rod 19. On the lower end of said rod. 19 is pivoted an arm20 which arm is fulcrumed on a pin 21 intermediate the brackets 4 andextends out over the axle 2. Intermediate the arm 20 and the member 17the rod 115) is provided with a ratchet rack 22. At the upper end of therod 19 is a collar 1.3 while let is a spring bearing between said collar 2 and a collar 18 on the pin 18. Spring 24 is still. enough toc(.)mpress spring let when in action.

25 a dog fulcrumed to a shaft 26 and normally held in engagement withthe ratchets 22 by means of a spring 27.

28 is any arm swung on the shaft 26 and pro vided with a segmental slot29 normally operating over pin 30 secured to said shaft 26, said armextending upward and being held normally out of engagement with the pin30 by means of a spring 31.

Swung on a hanger 32 is a lever 33 provided with a slotted. end 34engaging a pin 35 on the brake piston rod 36. Iivoted inter mediate thelever 33 is a link rod 37 which is pivoted at its other end to the lowerend of a lever 38 ifulcrumed on a hanger SS). Pivoted to the upper endof the lever 38 is a trip rod 40 slid-ably disposed through a dog 4L1depending from a hanger 42 and hanging normally in alinement with theratchets 17 Said trip 40 is provided with a collar 43 adapted to engagethe arm 28 under certain operations as will appear. The slotted end 34is long enough to permit piston 36 to travel its extreme length oftwelve inches and the spring 45 will be long enough to take up theextreme travel of the parts. The trip rod 40 is also provided with acollar 44 bearing normally against the forward side of the dog 41, while45 is a spring encircling the trip rod 40 to the rear of the dog 41 andbearing between collars 46 and 47 on said rod 40.

In using my improved system, the brake shoes and rods are so adjusted asto be capable of double the pressure now acquired and yet with theregulation seventy pounds pres sure. The purpose of this, I willdemonstrate later.

The views in this drawing show my improved mechanism as it appears innormal position or rather as it appears on empty cars. In this positionthe valve 6 is so adjusted by means of the plug 9 being screwed up andforcing the spring 14 to hold the pin 12 against said valve at suchtension as to permit about one half the air from the cylinder 8 toescape to the atmosphere through ports 15. This leaves the braking powerof this empty car the same as it now is on all cars. gradually lowersthus driving the bracket 4 downward and causing the arm 20 to engage theaxle 2, which action pulls downward the rod 19 and incidentally thelower end of the adjusting lever 1.7 which causes the said adjustinglever to drive the rod 10, inward. This causes the spring 14 to becompressed, thus reducing the quantity of air which is permitted to passthrough the valve 6 and causing it to be expanded on the brake pistonhead, thus causing the braking power to increase in proportion as theweight of the car increases. As the rod 19 travels downward performingits functions as above, the dog 25 engages with the ratchets 22 thusholding the said rod 19 and its connected parts in the position fixed bythe weight of the car, and if the car jolts and drives the arm 20upward, then it is caught and held by dog 25 in ratchet 22 and ridesclear of the axle 2 thus preventing wear. \When the air is applied thepiston rod 36 drives outward and drives the lever 33 forward whichaction by means of the link 37 and lever 38 pulls the trip rod 40forward whichcauses it to engage the lug 30, turning the shaft 26 andpassing over said arm 28, thus releasing the dog 25 and permitting therod 19 to return to normal or as near normal as permitted by the weightof the car, the lever 17 being held in its similar position by means ofthe dog 41 engaging the ratchets 17 being pulled to such position by themovement of the rod 40 just described. In a loaded car of course theparts cannot return to normal entirely but'only to such position as ispermitted by the weight of the car and thus the position in which thelever 17 is locked is that position which maintains Now as the car isloaded the car bedthe weight of the car as described. The object inhaving this adjustment lever 17 locked in this manner when the brakesare set is to prevent any sudden jolt of the car from offering a greaterresistance to the valve 6 than is required to maintain the proper brakepower in making a second application or in cutting in the retainingvalves coming down the mountain grades, and still permit the arm 20 tobe driven upward and locked there by dog 25 in ratchet 22 thus keepingit above said axle.

WVhen the brakes are released the piston rod 36 moves inward and pullson the levers 33 37 and 38 in such a manner as to drive the trip rod 40outward and release the dog 41 and passes the collar 43 back over thearm 28, the spring 31 returning it to normal, and when all the parts arethus released the device is in position to repeat the operationdescribed above, the spring 24 pressing on the lever 17 to adjust to anymovement the rod 19 may have made while the said lever 17 was looked asdescribed.

Thus it will be seen that the device as described above is designated toincrease or decrease the braking power of a car according to the weightthereof and thus equalize the braking power throughout the train line.-

And by reason of the fact that on cars provided with the device themaximum pressure is doubled over what is now used on cars,

with the use of the same quantity of air pressure, this permits a trainline to be made up of cars provided or not provided with the im provedpressure adjuster, and with no inconvenience occasioned thereby.

My improved system makes it possible for freight trains to be stoppedalmost as easily as passenger trains thus making a saving of time inrunning into stations and yards. Also when loaded cars are put upon asiding or hauled to warehouses and unloaded the adjuster still remainsin its load position as described until the cars are again picked up,and put into a train, when first application of brakes releases theadjuster and lets it travel to normal. The same will occur when part ofthe load is removed, the adjuster 17 releasing the pressure 011 thevalve 6 according as the weight of the car bears the arm 20 onto theaxle 2.

I claim that 'my improved adjuster will give all the braking powerneeded to handle the heaviest cars inemergency and also permit quickstops to be made and the engineer to have perfect control of the trainunder high speeds.

Fig. 6 shows a modified form of car from that shown in the otherfigures, viz. a car having bolsters the lower bolster carrying an arm 49for engaging the arm 20 instead of the axle as in the other form. Thusit will be seen that I have produced a device for adjusting 65 on thevalve 6 a resistance in proportion to 1 the braking pressure of carsaccording to their Weight, which substantially fulfils all the objectsof the invention as set forth herein.

WVhile this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferredembodiment of my invention still many changes from such detail may beresorted to within the scope of my claims, without departing from thespirit of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and useful anddesire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In a device of the characterdescribed a car, a brake cylinder thereon, a means for adjusting the airpressure in said brake cylinder according to the weight of the car, andmeans for locking and releasing said adjusting means as the brakes onsaid car are set or released, as described.

2. In a device of the character described a car, a brake cylinderthereon, a bracket depending from the under side of said car, a rodslidably secured to said bracket, an arm fulcrumed to said bracket andpivoted to the lower end of said rod, said rod being adapted to contactwith some stationary object 011 the truck of said car as the car bodymoves downward, and means for regulating the pressure in said brakecylinder by the motion of said red, as set forth.

3. In a device of the character described a car, a brake cylinderthereon, a depending bracket on side of said car, a curved adjustmentlever pivotally mounted on said bracket, a rod slidably disposed throughthe lower end of said curved lever, a stop collar on said rod adapted tobear against said lever, means for pulling said rod downward with anydownward movement of the car, and means in o erative connection with theupper end of said adjustment lever for regulating the pressure in saidcylinder according to the downward movement of said car, as described.

4. In a device of the character described a car, a brake cylinderthereon, a bracket dependin from the under side of said car, a rodslidabIy disposed on said bracket, a means for moving said red as thecar body moves downward, a means for locking said rod in its movedposition, a means for releasing the same and returning it to its normalposition, and a means for adjusting the air pressure in said cylinderaccording to the movements of said red, as described.

5. In a device of the character described a car, a brake cylinderthereon, a vertical rod disposed beneath said car, a ratchet rack formedon said rod, a dog adapted to normally engage said ratchets, means forreleasing said dog when the brakes on said car are set, means for movingsaid rod as the car body moves downward and means for regulating the airpressure in said cylinder by the movement of said rod, asset forth.

6. In a device of the kind described a car, a brake cylinder thereon, abracket downward from said car, a vertical rod slidably disposed on saidbracket, a ratchet rack on said rod, a dog pivotally mounted on saidbracket and normally engaging said ratchets, a spring holding said do insuch normal adjustment, an arm-upward from the shaft of said dog, saidarm being provided with a slot, at lug on said shaft operating throughsaid slot; a trip rod disposed above said arm and provided with a tripcollar adapted to engage said arm, and means operating said trip rodwith the brake piston red, as set forth.

7. In a device of the character described a car, a brake cylinderthereon, a curved adjustment lever disposed beneath said car, ratchetsdisposed in said lever, a depending dog on said car extending normallyin alinement with said lover, a trip rod in operative connection withsaid dog, means operating said trip rod, means whereby said leveroperates with the downward movement of the body of the car, and meanswhereby the pressure in said cylinder is regulated by the movement ofsaid lever.

S. In a device of the characterdescribed a car, a brake cylinderthereon, an auxiliary cylinder connected with said brake cylinder bypipe, a pop valve disposed at the entrance to said auxiliary cylinder, acentrally oriliced screw plug in the rear of said auxiliary cylinder, arod slidably disposed through said orifice, the inner end of said rodbeing formed as a sleeve a collar on said rod bearing normally againstsaid plug, a pin slidably disposed in said sleeve and bearing normallyagainst said valve, a collar on said pin, a spring bearing between saidtwo collars, and means for moving the said rod inward as the car bodymoves downward, as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

U LYSSES S. SMITH.

WVitnesses:

FRANK H. CARTER, PERCY S. VVnBs'rnn.

